The RAU architectural team, based in Amsterdam, designs buildings with a strong emphasis on sustainability. Our mission is to make a positive contribution to the society and to planet earth. To us architecture demonstrates and creates awareness of how human activities influence the built environment. A truly sustainable building is not just one that incorporates energy efficient technology and fulfills the standards of given sustainable certificates. What we strive to achieve is physical, spiritual and social wellbeing.

Oneplanetarchitecture
Our ambition exceeds the boundaries of the architectural challenge itself: we aim to deliver an additional value and quality to life on earth. We believe architecture must ensure that our activities on earth add value to the future instead of consuming resources that can’t be replaced. We intend to help making the qualities for which we seek in life more accessible for everybody without compromising the wellbeing of this planet, its nature and the people who live on it.

Circular economy
We support and help to accelerate the transition from the current linear economy to a more sustainable circular economy. Therefore our buildings are designed as ‘raw material depots’ – materials are placed temporarily and can be relocated and reused in future cycles without loss of quality. The collaboration with TurnToo is a crucial contribution to this development. TurnToo, which was founded by Thomas Rau, introduces performance based business concepts. Instead of focusing on consumption, TurnToo focuses on the performance delivered by products.

‘Architecture through dialogue’
The architecture of RAU is by definition the result of a unique design process. ‘Unique’ because each project differs from each other and is influenced by its participants, their personal inputs and the conditions given by the specific location. Consequently RAU considers discussion with all users an essential element of successful processes. This knowledge forms the base of our methodology that we use since the foundation of RAU in 1992. Our integrated planning method allows us to deliver the best possible building for the users, the clients and the location.

People are our focus
The human being, in all its diversity, remains the origin and focus of every RAU project. The diversity of humans manifests itself in physical differences, behavioral differences and varying personal needs. These requirements shape our design approach: We develop sustainable flexible buildings that can adapt to future changes. Wether the use and function of a building might change, people remain the users of it and are therefore crucial for every RAU design.